I keep a concise list of 15 channels that have worked for early‑stage founders to acquire their first 100 users: Reddit, Indie Hackers, Hacker News, Quora, Product Hunt, BetaList, Alternative To, SaaSHub, Side Project Ideas, Launching Next, StartupBase, Uneed, Facebook Groups, X (Twitter), Linkedin.
I include both broad social networks and niche product‑discovery sites so I can experiment with mass‑reach tactics (e.g., Reddit, Facebook Groups) and highly targeted avenues (e.g., Indie Hackers, Product Hunt).
I compiled a checklist of 83 online launch platforms, each annotated with its Ahrefs Domain Rating (DR). The list spans product‑discovery sites, developer communities, AI‑tool directories, and general SaaS listings, with DR values from 21 to 92. This reference helps me prioritize where to announce a new startup.
On 2026‑09‑11 I asked: “Which is the best place for Marketing on early stage ?” looking for guidance on the optimal early‑stage marketing channel.
X is full of founders.
Instagram is full of creators.
LinkedIn is full of experts.
I posted on 2026‑10‑21 asking indie hackers and bootstrappers to share where they found their first 10 users, inviting comments with “I’m taking notes.”
I launched my SaaS with $0 marketing budget and no audience, asking the community: “What’s your FIRST move?”
Your first customers won’t come from your content; they’ll come from conversations, and content just makes those conversations easier to start.
I noticed that X is full of founders, Instagram is full of creators, and LinkedIn is full of experts, which leads me to ask myself where the actual customers are.
"X is full of founders. Instagram is full of creators. LinkedIn is full of experts. Where are the customers?"